The Longest Friday

The vast majority of Australia boasts all the vertical variation of a pancake

…..and it almost seems that the slightest change in terrain warrants the immediate designation of a national park, which is superb because there are protected areas set aside for recreation use.  (in some areas, the North West Territories remind me of Texas…where vast tracks of land are privatized by cattle barons and therefore legally inaccessible to the public.)  Kings Canyon is one these bumps in the vast Australian pancake – The Australian pancake is a legitimate scientific geographical term(that I made up) describing the greater portion of Australia.

I had the pleasure of linking up with a Danish Dairy farmer making his way around Australia on a motorbike.

Bernhard from Denmark

Our shared appreciation for the outdoors convinced us to spend a half day hiking in the Kings Canyon.

Cool rain drizzled down on us through out the hike,..but the canyon was still hot enough to lure me into those rare outback oasis.

Staying true to his wheels, Randy hunkered down with his bike at the nearest roadhouse.  By the time I arrived at the station I was in dire need of a cup of joe and some feed.  As he’d been there waiting for hours already,..he set of for Uluru.  That’s the way with bikers like us.  While you never leave a buddy hanging in tight spot,..if you want to go,…you go,..and make plans to link up down the road….nothing should interfere with your individual freedom and personal riding style.

Uluru is a little town located just outside Ayers Rock.  Its exists to serve the loads of tourist that make the long trip out to see the big rock.  Everything is uber expensive,…but I guess that’s what keeps the place protected and maintained.

Ayers rock is a big deal,…and I was itching to see it.  I was hungry and tired after the drive out,…but just had to go out to take a gander.  I put off setting up camp and shot out towards the national park.  I paid up my 25 bucks at the gate and rode in on an immaculate road that gently twisted through the dunes and over the low lying hills.  It just felt good to be there,..it was evening,…perfect temperature….the low angle of the sun cast a beautiful golden glow over the landscape, and recent rains had replaced the dusty breeze with a pungent and refreshing scent of sage and spinnifex.

I’ve had the privilege and good fortune to visit some the worlds biggest tourist attractions.  Most of these attractions looked far more extravagant in photo graphs and brochures,..than in real life, so I actually wasn’t expecting a big deal with Ayers Rock.

But,..as it rose up in front of me out of the outback scrub…I was stunned.

It was a way bigger deal than I’d imagined. No photo I’ve seen has done it justice.  Maybe it was the timing and circumstances,..by myself,..sun setting,..perfectly beautiful evening,..on a motorbike,..I don’t know exactly why,..but Ayers rock blew me away.   Its absolutely spectacular.

this photo doesn't do it justice,..the rock is much bigger than it looks

After stopping to snap some photos,..I was back on the road to get in close to the big rock.  My hunger, thirst and fatigue from riding all day was forgotten as I was revived by the glory of this awesome site.  The road continues to wind its way in a complete loop around the Rock.  I was the only one on the road and I screamed around it with child like bliss… again, and again,..and again,..until it got dark.

The following morning was a very different experience.  It was still pretty cool, but the crowds were there.  Randy and I hung with a tour guide and a full flock of tourist for about 20 minutes…then buggered off.  Running around the world free as can be on motorbikes..has spoiled us…leaving us with little tolerance for crowds.

couldn't help but capture this image with my camera

I would title this into the red hot center,..but its been pouring for days.  That’s POURING not raining.  The dry river bed (and transient camp for aboriginals) is currently suitable for white water rafting.  Its not the rainy season,..just weird weather.

The locals are loving it,..aside from discovering leaks in their roofs(and not caring cus its not going to rain like this for another 80 years),..the rain has cooled down the air temperature and graced the usual parched red land with greenery.

Good grazing land stretches out along the creeks in pastures and sprawls beneath extraterrestrial looking pines and gum trees.

Alice was a sort of hallmark for my Australia tour,..I’d heard about it since I was kid and it felt great to have finally arrived to see if first hand.  My first impressions were perfect.  By chance I’d wandered into the outback styled bar of Bojangles.  A historic pub decked with memorabilia of a wild and turbulent past….loads of guns, swords,..gator skins,..tributes to Ned Kelly(Aussie Outlaw)…line the walls and hang precariously from the ceiling. They even had a skeleton sitting atop an ancient motorcycle with a live python twisting through the rusty rig.  The skeleton is wearing a metal chastity belt. I didn’t think there actually was such a thing,..and I didn’t expect to see one displayed by a grinning skeleton on a motorcycle providing habitat for a live python in an Alice outback pub.  Not unlike some Alaskan towns,..there’s a feeling of frontier permeating the atmosphere.  Lots of strange folks, with even stranger stories.  I spent a few hours in the pub having a yarn with some truckers over various cold but mediocre beers and a whopping Kangaroo steak.  After I probed with a few questions, I was resting assured that none of the truckers were hauling bulldozers,..so I didn’t have to rip one of the swords off the wall.

Another key point for me in Alice was linking up with Randy.  He’s another overlander working his way around the globe on a bike..but with a very cool twist. He’s your modern day Maverick,.. playing poker in each town with enough success to put gas in his tank and keep himself on the road.  Definitely the only guy I know doing that.  Back in Panama we’d met up and gone in on a Sail boat to get our selves and our bikes around the Darian.  Over several stomach wrenching days of rough seas to Colombia,..we’d gotten to know each other.  We never actually toured together, cus I was a biker with a paragliding and mountaineering problem…and was not making very good time as I rolled south.

Randy at the 24 hour laundromat,..thats open 24hrs……. except when its raining.

So it was with some degree of wonder that we both ended up in the same town on the other side of the world…in the desert during an epic rainstorm.   We agreed to team up for an attempt on the Gunbarrel track.  General consenses on the route was not favorable from those we’ve talked with,..so we are approaching with enough fuel to back off at any point.

Although an outstanding urban rider,… The Maverick’s poker life style has kept him out of the bush and in the casinos.  So we are breaking him in gently on bush camping, as we’ll be riding wilderness on the Gunbarrel.  He’s picked up a good tent, bed roll, extra fuel containers, ect and he’s squaring away his bush kit as we get closer to the route.  I’m hoping he swaps out those bungees for some rachet straps…we’ll see.

Alice was a spot to gear up,..although prices were astronomical…the gear was there.  My BestRest Pump had recently failed as well as all my attempts to repair it(warranties aren’t much help when you  consider shipping costs overseas).  So its back to the ghetto slime pump,..which works just as well anyway.  My nice primaloft sleeping matt is blown out as well.  20 minutes in a river trying to find the holes and squeezing out a full tube of seam seal didn’t solve the problem…so its back to the 15$ blue foam….some times its good to be forced back to basics.  Since I’m rigged for it, and comfortable hauling a big load with that solid 1150 motor,..I’m the mothership for this trip,..carrying the majority of food, fuel, water, cooking equipment, spares, ect.

We are working our way towards the Gunbarrel via Kings Canyon and Ayers Rock.  The next few days will give us time to asses our kit and our capability on these dirt roads in regards to heavy rains.  Our first 100k of dirt was fanstastic.  The KTM dealer in Alice told us to stay clear(best intentions for tourists,..I’d say the same thing), but we went anyways and it was a blast.   The rain helped keep the dust down and the mud was a breeze compared to that nasty stuff seeping out of the South American Jungles.  However, this was just one dirt road, and we can’t fully judge whats ahead by a mere 100k.

The bush camping was top notch.  The flys were horrid as usual,..but we’ve got a system in place to deal with them.

Anytime you stop for more than a few minutes during the day…the head net goes on.   At dusk the solar charged flies back off and we can remove the head nets, cook up some feed, and enjoy the sunset.

Massive down pours arrived a little after midnight, slamming against my tent with such force I had to resort to earplugs to get back to sleep.  Its times like this when your glad you’ve got a high quality shelter over your head.  (Thanks Ian for helping pick out the Aussie made bombshelter of a tent)

We pitched our tents this evening at Kings Canyon Resort.  It’s an impressive lodging and camping resort just outside Kings Canyon.    Nothing beats bushcamping for a scenic campsite,..but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the pool  and hot shower,… and Randy treated me to a 7 dollar glass of beer….prices are up out here.